What Are the Best Cognac Ratings or Competitions? Anthony Dias-Blue, Paul Pacult, and Other Competitions in Review

Other Spirit Rating Organizations and Events:

Wine & Spirits in the US (www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com)or Wine & Spirit in the UK (www.harpers.co.uk) are very wine oriented.

MicroLiquor Spirit Awards www.microliquorawards.com

MicroLiquor Spirit Awards is the World’s First Spirits Competition for Small Brands - Brand/Label sells less than 50,000 9-liter cases annually. MicroLiquor Spirit Awards sponsored by Flow Design provides professional and confidential feedback on product quality, packaging and design, and overall value.

Liquor entrepreneurs, brand managers and marketing professionals have the opportunity to gain entrepreneurial thought and insight to their brands while enjoying the benefits of competition. 

This competition is very targeted and its focus is justified. Brands from large corporations may have an advantage in financial resources. Competitions are expensive and often connected to mass-media organizations which may have biases in evaluations. Hence, this competition may be a stepping stones for smaller brands and/or a niche player type of rating.

MicroLiquor Spirit Awards

BLUE’s Reviews www.bluelifestyle.com

Anthony Dias-Blue offers a rating through his magazine the Tasting Panel Magazine in the USA. The Tasting Panel Magazine offers several monthly ratings, as well as an annual review of these ratings. Meredith May, the other co-editor of TPM rates as well as additional writers. Mr Blue is involved in many competitions in the US: World Spirits and Wines Competition in San Francisco . He is also the executive director at the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition.

www.nyworldwineandspiritscompetition.com

Anthony Dias-Blue is a highly recognized wine & spirits journalist who originally made his name as the wine and spirits editor of Bon Appétit, one of the largest food publication in the United States. 

BLUE LIFESTYLE Anthony Dias-Blue Logo

He also broadcasts on radios, KFWB and KLSX FM in Los Angeles and on WCBS radio in New York.  He is a frequent contributor to Decanter, Robb Report, Celebrated Living, Virtuoso Life, and C Magazine. Mr. Blue is the author of The Complete Book of Mixed Drinks and its companion, The Complete Book of Spirits. 

PACULT’s Reviews www.spiritjournal.com

F. Paul Pacult has a tremendous reputation in the spirit review and he publishes his ratings in his members only Spirit Journal. Look for the annual review edition in particular. His reviews also appears in the Wine Enthusiast Magazine. He is increasingly involved in mixology and bar events mostly on the North-East of the USA, such as the Ultimate Beverage Challenge.

Spirit Journal Paul Pacult

Wine Enthusiast Magazine publishes a magazine and other media to promote the appreciation of both wines and spirits. It is headquartered in New York and founded in 1979. Currently, spirits reviews are provided by F. Paul Pacult, who does tastings in a controlled environment. Results are given a point score. www.winemag.com

This concludes our review of worldwide spirit ratings.

But before I end this review I would like to add one more competition which is notable in France but in France mostly: Concours Général Agricole.  In addition, I think this competition is mostly rating wines and other agricultural products such as cider, pasta, sausages ... even animals such as cows or pigs, but also cognac. In perspective, in 2012 they gave over 2000 medals to wine brands versus 9 brands of cognac. So it stays mostly a wine focused competition. 

In a way there maybe something wrong with cognac: it is 100% made in France, but almost 100% consumed and rated outside France.

I note that Louis Royer received a Gold medal for its VSOP in 2012.

Concours General Agricole Logo

What Are the Best Cognac Ratings or Competitions? The Competitions in New York

The Competitions in New York, USA

There is no surprises that New York be the place for an international spirit rating event. The question is which one as there are several and it is not clear which event is dominating the scene. 

--->  FIRST, the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition www.nyworldwineandspiritscompetition.com

This event is like a mirror image of the World Spirits Competition in San Francisco, but with wine too. Perhaps this is explained by the fact that Anthony Dias-Blue is the executive director in both places. This competition occurs at the same time and is associated with the Bar and Restaurant Trade Show.

New York Wine and Spirits Competition Logo

 The +:  New brands trying to get traction in the USA have to start in New York. It is not a law but a recognized rule of thumb. This show is tied up with key trade partners such bars and restaurants (called on-premise in the trade) it makes sense to participate to this show to jump start the introduction of new products. The idea is that you are getting 2 birds with 1 stone.

 The -: this is a new competition pretty much over-shadowed by the World Spirits in SF, and also it is including wines where spirits usually play the second roles.

--->  SECOND, the New York International Spirits Competition www.nyispiritscompetition.com

This competition is different in that the judges are spirits buyers from the industry, which gives a nice twist in the sense that most other competitions classically employs experts. Experts may be more representative of the experts’ tastes rather than the trade or consumers. Another interesting aspect is that the competition is grading similar products and categorizing them also based on pricing. This rule is perhaps even more significant for cognacs as one may find for instance XOs at 70 euros and other at 150 euros, or Extras at 150 euros and other at more than 1000 euros. In other words one may find that a highly rated cognac at 100 euro may be more realistic than a highly rated cognac at 1000 euro.

New York International Spirits Competition logo

The +: the rating method allows for new facets and perhaps originality. A spirit rating competition only.

The -: this competition does not have the national coverage and support found in the other competitions.

What Are the Best Cognac Ratings or Competitions? The International Spirits Challenge

International Spirits Challenge www.internationalspiritschallenge.com

The International Spirits Challenge is based in the UK, and it is very respected since 1995. The competition is founded on a rigorous and independent judging process, which serves to encourage the high calibre of spirits, designs and campaigns entered into the competition each year. Receiving more than 1,000 entries from nearly 70 countries worldwide makes the ISC is a truly global competition. It is supported by most of the world’s leading spirits producers as the international standard for quality and excellence.

International Spirits Challenge Logo

The ISC has evolved over recent years to recognize four key areas of the industry; Tasting, Design & Packaging, Marketing and Retailer Awards.

Marketing Awards: The aim of the ISC Marketing Awards is to recognize and celebrate the invaluable impact marketing has on creating and sustaining brand value which will ultimately improve profitability. Judges are drawn from marketing and advertising agencies to assess how well the campaign met the brief, overall brand strategy, evidence of innovation and creativity, positive results and statistics and return on investment.

* Best Launch Campaign

* Best Advertising Campaign

* Best Digital & Social Media Marketing Campaign

* Best Experiential Campaign

* Best PR Campaign

The International Spirits Challenge is home to some of the finest palates in the world. Each of the judges must have demonstrated their skill and knowledge in spirits before joining a specialist panel, and include master blenders, master distillers, importers, distributors, buyers, consultants, journalists, authors and independent experts.

The +: it is a well respected competition in Europe and the USA. For some reasons, some people do not trust the competitions in the USA, so they would rather leave it to foreigners. So it is a good choice for a balance of US/Europe ratings.

The -: Results are in November.

The UK have two leading competitions. I explain this by:

. Great Britain is an original and historical large purchaser of wines from France, and then the rest of Europe.

. GB is a large producer of whiskies, Gins, Beers, Ciders, etc..

What Are the Best Cognac Ratings or Competitions? The SIP AWARDS

SIP AWARDS www.sipawards.com

The Spirits International Prestige (SIP) Awards takes a new approach to beverage competitions by linking producers to the people who matter the most - The Consumers. Hence, SIP provides one of the most valid measures of beverage quality in the world. By working directly with consumers, SIP offers a more realistic opinion and more market driven point of view.

SIP AWARDS Logo

Their consumer judging panel strips away the layers of elaborate marketing, brand recognition, price point disparity, and most importantly, the bias of established judges. Spirits are judged in a blind tasting review on the characteristics of Aroma, Taste, and Finish.

The +: finally consumers are the judges.

The -: only a few consumers are judging, and therefore even if the validity of the research methodology is high, the reliability of the data set is poor because 100s of people would have to judge to make it reliable.  Reliability is how accurate is your data and validity is about how effectively you are measuring really what you are trying to measure. Therefore, one question: are all consumers equal. Answer is no. Do I want Gin lovers who would never buy a cognac evaluate my cognac. That is the advantage of using experts to judge because they are ‘supposed’ to know.

The reality is that they are not many cognac experts and the one who are really experts in cognac are mostly making it and not judging it. In addition, experts are often so unlikely representative of consumers’ tastes but at least one can expect more consistency among experts. In conclusion, experts favorites are often good products or more that the benefit.

What Are the Best Cognac Ratings or Competitions? The Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition and the Beverage Tasting Institute.

The Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition www.lawinecomp.com

This competition was initially for wine only and founded in 1939. In 2007, it began receiving entries for spirits. Awards are provided for gold, silver, and bronze medals. In 2009, there were 199 entries with 179 awarded medals.

Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition Logo

The +: situated in the middle of the capital of world entertainment. Well organized event, business friendly, ... increasingly referenced. Great longevity since 1939.

The -: the spirit rating is clearly an off-spring of the wine event, and one could say the spirit part of the event is in its introduction stage. In fact, the prices and logos state “Wine & Spirits” but website and other media references do not include the word ‘spirit’ or ‘spirits’, neither in presentations (photos ...) which proves it is starting and not their focus. As a side note they have an olive oil competition integrated in the event so it should be called: ‘Las Angeles International Wine, Spirits and Olive Oil Competition’. I think they should also do coffee, tea and why not beer!

The Beverage Tasting Institute www.tastings.com

The Beverage Testing Institute is based in Chicago, Illinois and was founded in 1981 with its initial focus on wine but later branching into the world of spirits and beer. They use a dedicated tasting laboratory in order to create consistent results and minimize external distractions. Each periodic tasting is conducted at the same time of day under identical conditions. The panelists are selected from the professional world of restaurants and publications under the leadership of director Jerald O'Kennard. Not all spirits are given a rating. Those of sufficient merit are awarded a point score between 80 and 100.

Beverage Tasting Institute

The institute seeks to produce "fair and impartial wine reviews for consumers." Buying guides have appeared in All About Beer, Epicurious.com, International Wine Review, Wine Enthusiast, Restaurant Hospitality, The New Yorker Magazine, and Wine & Spirits.

The +: highly recognized in the trade and used to promote to consumers. So it is working and it is clearly an official source. The spirit division is very seriously carried out and broken into departments: the whiskies, the bandies, the eaux-de-vie, ... Just from the fact that they divide and organize ratings of spirits by family and rate them at different times and per family says a lot. I like the scientific ‘kind of’ style this organization has. I like the fact that they clearly mentioned that not everyone gets to win something. No idea if it is true but it sounds good.

The -: rather expensive and many boutiques brands do not apply/submit anything which makes it a safe heaven for the spirits produced by large corporations.

What Are the Best Cognac Ratings or Competitions? The Internationaler Spirituosen-Wettbewerb ISW (www.mundusvini.de)

The case of the Internationaler Spirituosen-Wettbewerb ISW (www.mundusvini.de)

This competition was started in 2004 in Germany, and it is a subsidiary of Meininger Verlag in Neustadt, one of Germany's oldest specialist publishing houses and run by the 4th generation family. It specialises in wine and beverage publications for different target groups.

Internationaler Spirituosen-Wettbewerb Spirits Competition Germany

A special ISW supplement with a print run of more than 100,000 copies reports in detail on prize-winning spirits and their producers and is included with all the wine, beverage and hospitality trade magazines published by Meininger Verlag.

The ISW judges are renowned experts from wine & spirits institutes, producers, retailers and restaurateurs who have daily experience with spirits.

---> The +: this is a well organized competition that seems very professional.

---> The -: mostly from Europeans for Europeans, and in particular Germans.